Lighter



J. S. SHERMAN LIGHTER July s, "1947.

Filed Feb. 22, 1945 Patented July 8, 1947 UNITE; STATES LIGHTER VJacob TS. Sherman, Chicago, 5111.

Application'February 22, 1945, Serial No. 579,181

A5 claims. l

.The invention relatesto improvements in lighting :devices and more particularly Vto arpocket iint lighter having a ncvelly constructed magazine adapted to contain replacement pieces Vof int.

.An object of the present invention is to provide a lighter of a kind including a friction wheel actuable to create sparks upon frictionalrub- -bing engagement with a pieceof Jflint, with a novelly vconstructed multiple `magazine.adapted-to contain replacement piecesof flint.

Another .object -of the Ainvention is to provide a lighter of the kind vdescribed .in which a magazine, adapted to contain replacementpieces of flint, is so arranged `.withinth'e lighter'casing -as to Abe effectively closed by ithe usual ladjusta lighter .devioeincluding a n ovelly constructed i normally concealed ilint magazine .which may be easily and inexpensively embodied in the device and which is very practical.

Other and further objects of the present :invention will be apparentfrorn the following .de-

lscription and claims .and rare illustrated inthe accompanying drawing which discloses a gpreferred embodimentV andthe .principle thereofand which is' considered tobe thefbest mode .contemplated for applying that principle. Other embcdiments of the .invention embodying .the same or equivalent principle may be .used .andfstructural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the .present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a pocket lighter embodying features of the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central sectional View of the lighter.

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially .on line .3-3 of Fig. 2, but omitting the shell.

Fig. 4. is a sectional detail View taken on .line 4 4 of Fig. 3, but omitting the casing and showing pieces of intthereinin broken lines.

The pocket lighter shown in `the accompanying drawing is of akind havingacasing containing a wick to be saturated with :a `suitable light-V ing uid, which -wick is projectedout .of the casing in the region of a friction element, including a piece of flint, actuable to emit sparks for igniting the projected end of the wick.

Lighters of this general character are compactly constructed and consequently the piece of :flint provided'therein necessarily is very small vandi-requires.frequent replacement. Considerable inconvenience and annoyance in replacing a piece of jlnt is avoided in the use of a lighter of theinstant constructionwhich includes a normally-concealed but readilyaccessible magazine adapted to contain one or more piecesV of flint which' are rendered available for use easily and quickly.

sAs best `shown in Fig. 2 the mechanism-of the lighter is carried on and within a substantially flat casing i@ including a top wall I-l and an open bottom, which casing is `removably contained within a, similarlylshapedshell l2 having a movable cover l-3. Normally, the cover 1.3 is .closed itc -conceal the casing it and such parts of the vlighter as-are mounted on th`e top wall ll thereof. vTo use the lighter, the cover yI3 is moved into an open position about a suitable hinge provided von the complemental end .walls thereof so as to expose the normally concealed actuating parts of Vthe lighter mechanism.

'A :wick I4 is firmly packed Vwithin the casing lil and .one end E15-thereof pro-jects through an opening 1.6 `inth'e casing vtop wall Il. A windshield yH is suitably provided .on the top wall Il .of the casing :around the wick opening IB, and said-windshield has a pluralityof holes i8 sonas to yadmit oxygen 'freely into the confined airspace within the windshield ll to enablethe projected end l5 of the wick, when properly saturated with 'a lighting fluid, to become ignited and'toburn-upon operation of the lighting mechanism ,to be described presently.

l The I.tube 22 Vis located in substantially vertical alignment .with and terminates a short distance below the lower peripherial edge of the friction Wheel Itas shown, and it is adapted to contain a piece of iiint 24. The piece of flint 2t normally is urged .upwardly in the tube 22 into yieldable contact with .the periphery of .the friction Wheel .I9 so that ywhensaid lfriction wheel isgrotated manually sparks are created due to the ffrictional engagement .between the frictional wheel andint, which sparks ,are directedinto thewindshield l'l and against the projected wick lend l-to ignite the same.

The means `provided to urge the piece of .flint 24 intojrictional contact with the friction wheel I9 preferably includes an adjusting screw 25 threadingly engaged with internal threads 26 provided within the lower open end of the tube 22. The inwardly disposed end of the adjusting screw 25 is suitably reduced in diameter as at; 2li to receive thereover one end of the coiled tension spring 28, the oth'er end of which carries a follower 2Q. of a. length considerably greater than the length of the tube 22 so that when the adjusting screw 25 and said spring and follower are mounted within the tube, said spring is tensioned to thereby hold the follower 29 tightly against the piece of flint 2., whereby said flint is maintained under the required tension.

The adjusting screw 25 includes a large flat head 3l suitably lrnurled on its peripherial edge to facilitate its being manually engaged when the casing lll is withdrawn from the shell I2. Such engagement is necessary when the screw 25 is inserted or withdrawn from the tube 22 or when it is necessary to adjust the screw to increase the tension of the spring 28 as when th'e piece of int 2li becomes worn. When the piece of flint; 24 has been worn to such an extent to become unserviceable it isnecessary to withdraw the adjusting screw 25 and its complemental parts 28 and 29 and insert a new piece of ilint in the tube 22.

It is one of the features of the present invention to provide means within the casing I2, preferably in the form of a magazine, adapted to contain one or more replacement pieces of flint in such manner that said pieces of ilint may be made available for use easily and quickly. To this end, the ylower lend of th'e tube 22 carries a magazine, generally indicated at 32, which magazine includes an end wall 33 and a surrounding wall 34. The end wall 33 may be formed in any desired manner but preferably consists of a washer snugly fitted around the tube 22 adjacent its lower end and limited in its sliding upon said tube lpreferably by suitable detents 35 or other protuberances formed in the wall of said tube.

The wall portion 34 of the magazine surrounds the portion of the tube `22 below the washer or end wall 33 and said wall 34 preferably is fashioned from a sheet of stiff shape retaining material, such as thin sheet steel, and is suitably shaped to provide a plurality of cells 36, each of suilcient size to freely receive one piece of flint as indicated in broken lines at 31 in Fig. 4. The provision of a multi-celled magazine such as is disclosed herein may best be accomplished by pressing circumferentially spaced portions of the magazine wall 34, longitudinal of its length, inwarollyY radially as at 38 into tight abutment withI the wall of the tube 22 to thereby leave the segments of the wall 3.4 between said deformed portions curved or bulged outwardly as best shown in Fig. 3. It will thus be observed that the magazine, consisting of the end wall 33 and surrounding wall 34, is press-fitted onto a lower end of the tube 2'2 and consequently is firmly secured in place.

As previously mentioned hereinabove, the at head 3l of the adjusting screw is relatively large and, as best shown in Fig. 4, it is of sufficient diameter to partiallyoverlie the lower open end of each of th'e cells 3b in the magazine. As a result, the head of the adjusting screw 25 serves eectively to retain the pieces of flint 31 within the cells 32. When the adjusting screw 25 is withdrawn from the tube 22, the head 3l is moved from its overlapping relation with the cells 36 The spring 28 normally is whereupon a piece of ilint 31 may be withdrawn from any one of the cells 36 and inserted in the tube 22. When the adjusting screw '25 is replaced in the tube 22 and its related spring 28 is properly tensioned to hold the piece of flint in frictional contact with the friction wheel i8, the head 3l is again disposed in overlapping relation with the cells 36 to retain the remaining piece of flint in said cells.

It should be evident that applicant has provided a very practical and inexpensively constructed magazine for replacement piece of Hint, which magazine may include any number of cells of any depth within the dimensional limits of the lighter casing, and that the invention may embody various other modications in the detail construction of the magazine without departing from the spirit of the invention orthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a lighter, an open ended feeder tube adapted to contain a piece Aof dint, adjustable means extending into said tube from one end to urge the flint towards the other tube end, a magazine for replacement pieces of flint carried by and surrounding said tube, said magazine including cells open at one end, and means on said adjustable means to prevent inadvertent'l removal of the replacement pieces of ilint.

2. In a lighter of the kind described, a feeder tube'adapted to contain a piece of flint, an external annular flange on said tube adjacent one end, a fitting press-fitted onto the said tube end, said tting having a plurality of openings therein each to receive a piece of ilint, and means adjustable in said tube to retain pieces of ilint in said openings.

3. In a lighter device, a feeder tube adapted to contain a piece of llint, and a magazine for replacement pieces of flint, said magazine comprising a piece of sheet material press-iltted around said tube and shaped to define with wall portions of said tube a plurality of cells each to receive a piece of ilint.

4. In a lighter device, a feeder tube adapted to contain a piece of flint, a magazine for replacement pieces of flint, said magazine comprising a piece of sheet material press-fitted around said tube and shaped t0 deilne with Wall portions of said tube a plurality of cells each to receive a piece of flint, and means common to said tube and to each of said cells to retain pieces of flint therein.

5. In a lighter device, a feeder tube adapted to contain a piece of flint, a magazine for replacement pieces of flint, said magazine comprising a piece of sheet material press-fitted around said tube and shaped to denne with wall portions of said tube a plurality of cells each to receive a piece of flint, and means Common to said tube and to each of said cells to retain pieces of flint therein, said means consisting of a screw threaded into an end of said tube and having a head a sufcient size to overlap the filling openings in said cells.

JACOB S. SHERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED Name Date Greene June 11, 1929 Number 

